The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1887-09-22

the Jewels, that was the last that the
pirate saw of his Indian treasure.
In .Blackbearl' we have real, rant
ing. raging, roaring pirate per se-one
who really did bury treasure, who made
more than one captain walk the plank,
and who committed more private MUIR
ders than he could number on the
fingers Of both hands; one who fills, and
will continue to fill. the place to which
he has been assigned for generations,
and who may be depended upon to hold
his place in the confidence Of others for
generations to come.
Captain Teach was Bristol man
born. and learned his trade on board of
sundry privateers in the East Indies
during the old French War-that Of
17O2-and better apprenticeship could
no man serve. At last. somewhere
about the latter part Of the year 17l6.
privateering captain, one Benjamin
Hornigold, raised him from the ranks
and put him in command Of a sloop-a
lately captured prize-and Blackbeard's
fortune was made. 1t was 4 very slight
step, and but the change Of a few let
tiers, to convert "privateer' into
..pirate.' and it was very short time
before Teach made that change: Not
only did he make it himself. bnt he per-
s,laded his old captain to join with him.
And now fairly began that series of
bold and lawless dcprcdations which
have made his name so justly famous,
and which placed him amongst the
very greatest Of NARROWING frc.hooters.
..Our hero" says the old historian who
sings Of the arms and bravery sof this
great man-..Our hero assumed the cog
nomen of Blackboard from that large
quantity Of hair which, like Il frightfnl
meteor, covered his whole face, and
frightened America more than any COM
ct that appeared there in long time.
He was accustomed to twist it with
ribbons into small tails. after the. man
ner of our Families wig. and turn them
about his ears. In time Of action he
wore sling over his shoulders, with
three brace Of pistols hanging in holsters
like bandolerrs; he Stuck lighted match.
es under his hat. which, appearing on
each side Of his face, and his eyes nat
urally looking fierce and wild, made
him altogether such a figure that imag-
ination cannot form an idea of, n Fury,
from hell to look more frightful. -.
The night before the day of the action,
in which he was killed he sat up drink
ing with some congcnial company uRx
til broad daylight. One of them asked
him if his poor young wife knew wher6'
his treasure was hidden. NO. says
Blackboard: .,nobody but the devil and
l knows where It is, and the longest
liver shall have ALL"
For time Blackboard worked at his
trade down OH the Spanish Main gath.
ering in, the few years he was there.
a very neat little fortune in the booty
captured from sundry vessels; but by
and-by he took it into his head to try
his luck along the coast Of tho Carolinas;
SO of he sailed the northward, with
quite a respectable little hect, consisting
Of his own vessel and two captured
sloops. From that time he was active
~ engaged in the making Of American
history in his small way.
He first appeared OF the bar of
Charleston Harbor, to the no small cx-
element Of the worthy tDwn Of that ilk,
and there he lay for five orsix days, block
aiding the port and stopping incoming
and outgoing vessels at his pleasure, 80
that, for the time. the commerce Of the
province was entirely paralyzed All
the vessels so stopped he held rs prizes.
and all the crews and passengers
(among the latter Of whom was more
than one provincial worthy Of the day
he retained as though they were
prisoners of war.
And it was nightly awkward
thing for the good folk Of Charleston to
behold day after day black flag with
its white skull and cross-bones hutter-
ing at the fore of the pirate captains
craft, over across the level stretch of
green salt-marshes; aud it was night
" unpleasant, too, to know that this or
that prominent citizen was crowded
down with the other prisoners under
the matches.
Becoming tired Of an inactive life,
Blackboard afterward resumed his
practical career. He cruised around in
the rivers and inlets and sounds Of
North Carolina for while; ruling the
the roost, and with never one to say
him nay. until there was no bearing
with such pest any longer. So they
sent q deputatiou up the Governor Of
Virginia asking II he would be pleased
to help them in their trouble.
There were two men-of-war lying al
Kicquetan, in the James River, ut the
time. To them the Governor of Vir.
ginia applied, and plucky Lieutenant
Maynard, of the Pearl, was. sent T.
Ocracoke Inlet to fight this pirate who
ruled it down there SO like the cock Of
a walk. There he found Blackboard
waiting for him, and as ready for a
fight as ever the lieutenant himself
could be. Fight they did, and while il
lasted it was pretty q. piece of business
of its kind as one could wish to. see.
Blackboard drained q glass of grog,
wishing the lieutenant luck in getting
aboard of him. fired q broadside, blew
some twenty Of the lieutenant's men
out Of. existence, and totally crippled
one Of his little sloops for the balance
of the fight.
After that. and under cover of smoke,
the pirate and his men boarded the
other sloop. and then followed fine
old-fashioned hand-to-hand conflict be.
twixt him and the lieutenant. First
they fired their pistols, and then they
took to it with cutlasses-right. left, up
and down. cut and slash-until the lieu,
tenants cutlass broke short of at the
hilt. Then Blackboard would have
finished him Off handsomely, only ur
steps one Of the lieutenant's men and
fetches him great slash over the neck
so that the lieutenant came of with nc